College is more about valuable education, not monetary investment

Letter to the Editor

The demise of the “student” must surely be near when education is now defined as a “purchase.” Indeed, this definition is merely a signpost of the problem's deeper roots. We, “students,” are not students anymore. We are customers. When the value of an experience lasting several years is calculated by predicted future income, or when the inherent worth of a field of study is now measured by its respective “job market,” the end of learning is clearly waving its sad flag.

Time in college should not be perceived as simply preparation for some career that may not exist in the next 100 years. Instead, those four years of education should be spent cultivating knowledge of one's self, existence, society and world — in that order of importance. If a career is a side-effect of such an endeavor, so be it. However, careers do not and will not define an individual. Colleges, like Rutgers, are not exempt from criticism. When students are turned into investors of their business, they also become a means of profit — the wheels to the capitalistic wagon whistling its supposed tune of “Education!”

It is in the hands of the students to ensure years spent studying, running around and juggling a multitude of classes, jobs and clubs yield the product initially sought after: an education that demands introspection, thought and reflection. With it, the chance to give back to our communities becomes possible, and we can cause a change lasting more than a meager life span. College is where the seeds of our future are watered. With proper attention and nurture, we can accumulate a garden of abundant fruit.

Aysenur Guc is a School of Arts and Sciences student freshman majoring in philosophy.